The first-ever "phygital" (physical + digital) event for Filipino creatives, took place on September 17 and 18 at the Philippine International Convention Center.
The two-day hybrid conference brought together the best creative business owners, freelancers, and agency heads in the nation to learn from the most influential persons of stature who made significant contributions to the creative industries around the world.
It provided an opportunity to network and investigate many specialized areas that would increase knowledge of the sector. Lynn Wycoco, Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Digitalinnov, attended the event to network and worked with other creative professionals in the Philippines.
She declared, "I have learned much from the creatives I've met, especially with niche specialties. It broadened my perspective on the creative industry. It made me understand that I still need to acquire many new talents, notably engaging audiences in the present and garnering their favorable attention.
The opportunity to learn from these speakers, notably Chris Do, one of the role models who motivated me to start a career as a designer, is an honor. I would love to share what I've learned with Digitalinnov.
Chris Do, an Emmy-winning director, designer, strategist, and educator, served as the event's keynote speaker. Other notable speakers included AJ Dimarucot, Kia Abrera, CEO of Braveworks Inc. & Brave Creators Lab, Lyqa Maravilla, and Prim Paypon, Executive Director of Asian Institute of Management-Dado Banatao Incubator and Head of Dream Project PH.
The conference was jam-packed with lovely, uplifting tales from talented presenters like self-taught graphic artist AJ Dimarucot, who created stunning works for well-known brands.
He experimented with several editing programs, which helped him produce designs that attracted the attention of major corporations. He transitioned from making logos to building websites and doing freelance t-shirt design. His cooperation with Nike, the Jordan Brand, and Adidas come about due to the rollercoaster ride.
Prim Paypon had a job as an executive but left it to pursue his childhood passion of starting an NGO that would genuinely assist Filipinos. The Dream Project PH generated 200+ original concept projects and assisted many Filipino locals in earning a living.
He gave one of the most inspirational lectures during the summit, motivating all creatives with the statement, "Dreams are more powerful than poverty." After what he shared with the crowd, he received a standing ovation.
The discussion by CEO Kia Abrera centers on communication models. We know that not all platforms have the same approach when it comes to targeting our particular market; therefore, she highlighted her journey of learning the how-tos on using TikTok to develop an audience and understand the genuine ways of the site.
She understood that content must start with the context you are in as creators, watchers, and the algorithm process it repeatedly as she continued to replicate her popular TikTok video in its early days.
Abrera succeeded admirably because she now understood what her audience desired. She advised finding a means to synthesize information instead of merely consuming it. Take care of your cognitive process. Kia is also one of the organizers of the event.
YouTuber Lyqa Maravilla used idioms to discuss the evolution of Filipino creativity and how to cultivate a more determined and passionate work ethic. "Diskarte," according to her, is an example of Filipino creativity. It derives from the Spanish verb "descartar," which means "to toss away."
Using damaged materials from natural disasters to create amazing things has long been a staple of Filipino inventiveness. Filipino artists are making stuff out of thin air.
She also discussed how to educate students using contemporary methods, saying, "You can teach a dog new tricks, but you can't teach them using old ways." She employs an innovative strategy to educate her viewers through the usage of her TikTok and YouTube channels.
Chris Do, the CEO and Creative Strategist of Blind & the Futur centered his speech on the Mind (re)set, which is about changing one's perspective to attract success and advance one's creative career.
Everyone was surprised with a quiz regarding the wealthy and impoverished mentalities. In addition to prioritizing talents over money and believing that success is inevitable, a rich person's mindset emphasizes personal growth in leisure time.
The summit's second day was devoted to training, with Chris Do serving as the sole speaker. He conducted a social media masterclass where he showed everyone how to identify the correct audience and use storytelling to build brands.
He mentioned Mr. Beast and Dr. Julie Smith as examples of effective narrative techniques and argued that "Creation is about creating and releasing tension." The goal was to create and tease the audience to capture their interest with inventive twists.
Chris expresses that creativity is a powerful weapon for success accompanied by personal development, hard work, and, most importantly, a rich person's mindset. He mentioned business risks: "I wanted to bend reality because I had imagination."
We are all considering how we might step up our efforts to reach even more artists throughout the country with the information we presented at the successful event. CCO Lynn Wycoco expressed it this way "We have established a network whose members are passionate about helping one another grow as individuals by sharing their expertise and collaborating with other creative professionals."
Conclusion
An imaginative mind is boundless, just as the sky is infinitely large beyond the horizon. In honor of the many great Filipino artists I had the pleasure of meeting during the conference, here's a shout-out to you all! Let's all have an open mind and explore innovative ways to conduct creative work we enjoy.
